ADVENTURE TRAVEL

TRENDS SNAPSHOT
APRIL 2018

© ATTA / Rupert Shanks

 Overview & Methodology

Every year since 2006 the ATTA has surveyed its growing
database of tour operators. Each year adventure travel tour
operators are invited to share information about their business
216 365
operations as well as trends they are experiencing with respect COMPLETED
 PARTIALLY

to traveler demographics, destinations, and activities. SURVEYS COMPLETED

For 2018 the Industry Snapshot survey asks companies to

comment generally on net profit projections for the year as well
as on traveler, destination and activity trends.

Respondent Profile
The respondent profile is consistent with past years. The largest Result Highlights
group of respondents this year were from North America (40
percent), followed by Europe (24 percent) and South America
(14 percent). Respondents from Africa made up six percent of Company Financials
respondents, Asia eight percent, Central America five percent,
and Middle East three percent and the Pacific two percent. Seventy five percent of companies expect a net profit
increase for 2018, with 40 percent saying the factor driving
Also consistent with past years is the operational profile of the increase is new customers.
respondents. More than half (56 percent) of respondents
characterize themselves as inbound operators (suppliers), while
26 percent characterized themselves as outbound tour
operators (buyers). Eighteen percent of respondents said they
function as both inbound and outbound companies.

© ATTA 2018
Traveler and Product Trends
Itineraries and Activities
Survey respondents were asked to characterize the popularity of
different trip types along a spectrum of “cold” to “hot” with “cold”
trip types indicating trips that receive little to no interest from
clients, and “hot” indicating itineraries receiving high interest from
clients.
The number one activity registering as “hot” is hiking. Also in
demand and captured as “warm” were cultural activities,
environmentally sustainable activities, cycling, ecotourism, culinary
activities, and safaris. At the cooler ender of the spectrum
operators noted kayaking, rafting, climbing, snorkeling, stand-up
paddle boarding and birdwatching. Camping, backpacking,
canoeing, scuba diving, and philanthropic tourism are also less in
demand with tour operators. Sandboarding, hunting, and heli-
skiing were the least in-demand activities.
Travelers
In terms of adventure traveler demographics, the customer
demographics reported by tour operators is consistent with what
has been reported in the past.
(Continued…)
The largest group of adventure travel tour operator clients (41
percent) are between the ages of 50 - 70. Twenty one percent of
adventure travel company clients are between the ages of 41 - 50;
17 percent are between the ages of 29 - 40. Fourteen percent of
clients are under age 28 and six percent are over age 70. In terms
of a global average, the average adventure travel client is 49
years old.
Clients are slightly more likely to be women -  53 percent of clients
- than men. Couples are the most prevalent group type - 42
percent of clients. Nineteen percent of clients are solo travelers; 18
percent are families. Groups make up 21 percent of guests.
Trip Duration and Price
The average adventure travel trip is eight days reported from all
regions. For this year’s dataset, per day prices range from $202
(reported by companies based in Asia) to $442 (reported by
companies based in North America). Around the world, per day
trip prices reported are mostly up: 11 percent (Africa); nine percent
(North America); and four percent (Europe) over 2017. South
America and Asia expect to decrease per day trip prices in 2018
— 6 and 4 percent respectively.

© ATTA 2018
 Key Source Markets
Europe and North America continue to be the leading source
markets for adventure travelers. For companies based in Africa,
Asia, and Europe, European guests are dominant. For companies
based in North America, Central America and South America,
North American guests make up the majority. Asia is a strong
source market for Asian-based companies, after Europe.
Destinations
Adventure tour operators noted four regions as “hot” with
significantly “increased interest” in the past year: Eastern Europe,
Scandinavia, Southern Africa and South-East Asia. Eastern Europe
was noted by the most operators as a destination of new interest.
In the “warm” category, a few new regions also appeared in the
list. A few notable entrants to the warm destinations category this
year are: Arctic, Oceania and East Africa. Destinations for which
tour operators have experienced unchanged demand from last
year are the Caribbean and Middle East.
Destination Benefits
Adventure travel tour operators estimate that 66% of their trip cost
per guest remains in the destination region. They further estimate
that guest expenditure on handicrafts and souvenirs in the
destination to be $118.
Operations
Adventure travel companies continue to retain the classic small
business profile, with ten or fewer employees. In terms of
additions to staff, most adventure companies say they added
staff to the operations component of their business, followed by
additions to the sales team and then guides.
Booking
Fifty one percent of respondents say their organization has an
online reservation system that accepts credit cards, maintaining
the slow but steady progress in this area. In 2016, 47 percent of
companies indicated they had online booking systems that could
accept credit cards.
In terms of bookings completed online, companies based in
Europe (52 percent) and North America (49 percent) far outpace
other regions of the world.
Adventure travel tour operators say that 55 percent of their
guests come to them directly, while 23 percent come through
travel agents and 22 percent come through another group or
partner.
© ATTA 2018
 Organization Headquarters

North America
40%
Pacific
1%
Middle East
3%

Central America
4%

Africa
6%

Asia
8% Europe
24%

South America
14%

© ATTA 2018
 Tour Operation Type

Outbound (buyer)
26%

Outbound and Inbound

18%
Inbound (supplier)
56%

© ATTA 2018
Average Customers Per Year

HEADQUARTERS CUSTOMERS PER YEAR

AFRICA 3,900

ASIA 8,200

EUROPE 6,800

NORTH AMERICA 6,300

SOUTH AMERICA 2,200

* Regions not containing sufficient sample size are excluded from this chart.

© ATTA 2018
 Trip Length

HEADQUARTERS LENGTH IN DAYS

AFRICA 8

ASIA 8

EUROPE 7

NORTH AMERICA 8

SOUTH AMERICA 8

* Regions not containing sufficient sample size are excluded from this chart.

© ATTA 2018
 Trip Price Per Day in US Dollars

Including lodging, excluding airfares

HEADQUARTERS 2018 (FORECAST) 2017 2016

AFRICA $381 $345 $316

ASIA $202 $210 $170

EUROPE $226 $217 $211

NORTH AMERICA $442 $407 $388

SOUTH AMERICA $316 $334 $285

* Regions not containing sufficient sample size are excluded from this chart.

** Trip prices are quoted in USD each year and may be affected by fluctuating exchange rates year over year. Survey
respondents provide estimates to the best of their knowledge.

*** Each year, we ask the survey respondents to provide two years of historical averages, and one year of the forecasted trip
price. The numbers change each year as we don’t follow the same cohort of respondents. Thus, to maintain accuracy, we can
only compare trip prices with the dataset on hand, and not with the previously published results for this question.

© ATTA 2018
Estimated Percentage of Guests Booking
Occupancy 

Double
Occupancy
75%
Individual
Rooms
25%

© ATTA 2018
 Staffing

FULL-TIME STAFF NON-STAFF SUBCONTRACTORS

10 and less 56% 54%

11 to 20 14% 16%
Number of Staff

21 to 50 16% 17%

51 to 100 8% 9%

More than 100 5% 4%

Percentage of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

© ATTA 2018
 2017 Staff Increases By Department

Operations
25%

Accounting
<1%
Other
1%

Sales
Marketing
20%
7%

Office Administration
10%

Guides
19%
No additions in 2017
17%

© ATTA 2018
 Guide to Guest Ratio

HEADQUARTERS RATIO

AFRICA

ASIA

CENTRAL AMERICA /
CARIBBEAN

EUROPE
1:18

1:9

1:7

1:9
1:8
GLOBAL AVERAGE

NORTH AMERICA 1:7

SOUTH AMERICA 1:6

© ATTA 2018
Estimated Percentage of Trip Cost Remaining in the
Local Region

66%
OF TRIP COST REMAINING IN THE REGION

ATTA asked tour operators to estimate how much of their per guest
trip cost remained in the host destination or region.

© ATTA 2018
Average Estimated Expenditure on Local Handicrafts or
Souvenirs

$118
SPENT PER GUEST (SHOWN IN US DOLLAR)

ATTA asked tour operators to estimate how much an average guest

spends on local handicrafts or souvenirs.

© ATTA 2018
Percent of Organizations with an Online Reservation
System Accepting Credit Cards

No
51%

Yes
49%

© ATTA 2018
 Percentage of Bookings Completed Online*

BY COMPANY HEADQUARTERS

Europe 52.15%

North America 49.83%

*Online booking means the entire transaction is completed using an automated system to select the trip, confirm availability and pay.

© ATTA 2018
 Source of Bookings

Europe North America Asia South America Africa Oceania

Africa 41% 29% 7% 4% 12%

12% 7%
8%

1%

Asia 42% 14% 36%

36% 1%
1%6%
6%
Company Headquarters

<1%
1%

Central America 23% 68% 1% 6%

6% 0%
1%

<1% 1%

Europe 55% 24% 4% 5% 5%

5% 7%

North America 15% 58% 6% 9%

9% 8%
8% 4%

<1%

South America 35% 43% 4%

4% 13%
13% 0%
4%

Source of Bookings, Average Percentage Reported

© ATTA 2018
 Key Booking Channels

Direct
55%

Group/Partner Booking
22%

Travel Agents
23%

© ATTA 2018
 Gross Revenue in US Dollars

HEADQUARTERS 2017 2016

AFRICA US$2.0 MILLION US$1.6 MILLION

ASIA US$1.6 MILLION US$2.8 MILLION

EUROPE US$5.2 MILLION US$3.5 MILLION

NORTH AMERICA US$4.9 MILLION US$4.6 MILLION

SOUTH AMERICA US$2.5 MILLION US$2.0 MILLION

* Regions not containing sufficient sample size are excluded from this chart.

** Gross Revenue is expressed in USD each year and may be affected by fluctuating exchange rates year
over year. Survey respondents provide estimates to the best of their knowledge.

© ATTA 2018
 Net Profit Outlook for 2017

GLOBAL VIEW REGIONAL VIEW

NET PROFIT OUTLOOK


HEADQUARTERS
2017 OVER 2016

Down
6% AFRICA +22%

Up ASIA +13%
75%
CENTRAL AMERICA +21%

Flat
EUROPE +27%
19%
NORTH AMERICA +26%

SOUTH AMERICA +20%

© ATTA 2018
 Primary Factor Influencing 

Net Profit Projections Positively

New customers 40%

New products added while controlling costs 18%

More repeat business 12%

New business lines added 7%

Decreased overhead 6%

Access to new markets 6%

Other 5%

Currency exchange 3%

Crisis in another region driving more customers to my company 2%

Fewer or flat product offerings while controlling costs 1%

Percentage of Respondents

© ATTA 2018
 Customer Demographics

Age Traveler Type Solo Travelers

70+
28 and under Couples Female
6%
15% 42% 51%
61 - 70 Families
16% 18%
Groups Male
Solo 21%
29 - 40 49%
19%
17%

Gender
51 - 60
25%
41 -50
21% Female
53%

Male
47%

© ATTA 2018
 Average Age

HEADQUARTERS AVERAGE AGE

AFRICA

ASIA

EUROPE

NORTH AMERICA
46

41

48

50
49
GLOBAL AVERAGE
CLIENT AGE
SOUTH AMERICA 51

© ATTA 2018
 Trending Trip Types
“Hot” trip types have high levels of client demand

Custom Long Haul / Environmentally Family / Solo

Itineraries Overseas Travel Sustainable Multi-Generation Travelers

HOT WARM WARM WARM WARM

© ATTA 2018
 Trending Trip Types
“Cool” trip types have low levels of client demand

Shorter Domestic /
Women-Focused Self-Guided LGBT
Duration Regional

COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL

© ATTA 2018
Other Emerging Customer Demands (Optional Response)

Multi-Sport/ Multi-Activity
1 Itineraries

“Combination of activities in one trip”

“Mix of activities in one trip”
“Multi activity”

Other
• PHOTOGRAPHY

• MOUNTAIN BIKING

© ATTA 2018
 Consumer Motivations for Adventure Travel in 2018
“Hot” to “Warm” indicate these factors are very strong to strong motivators

Wellness / Adventure Travel as Pampering and Digital Detox

Betterment a Status Symbol Luxury (Unplug)

WARM WARM WARM WARM

ATTA asked respondents to indicate how strongly they felt these

factors were motivating their guests. Respondents found all factors
nearly equal in terms of their motivational influence.

© ATTA 2018
Average Marketing Reach by Channel

Direct Mail
23,215

Email Subscribers
17,364

Social Media
39,125

© ATTA 2018
Companies with a Documented Safety and Risk Management Plan

BY COMPANY HEADQUARTERS
Yes
Asia 69% 31% No

Europe 76% 24%

North America 78% 22%

South America 74% 26%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

© ATTA 2018
ACTIVITIES
Activity trends are reported globally.

© ATTA / Border Free Travels

 Hottest Trending Activities
“Hot” activities have high levels of client demand

Hiking

HOT!

© ATTA 2018
 Warm Trending Activities
“Warm” activities are in demand

Cultural Eco-Tourism

Environmentally
Culinary
Sustainable

WARM

Cycling Safaris

© ATTA 2018
 Cool Trending Activities
“Cool” activities are low in demand

Kayaking/ Sea/
Snorkeling
Whitewater

Stand-Up Paddle
Rafting
Boarding

COOL

Climbing
(Mountain/ Rock/ Birdwatching
Ice)

© ATTA 2018
 Cool Trending Activities
“Cool” activities are low in demand

Philanthropic/
Camping
Voluntourism

Scuba Diving Backpacking

COOL

Research
Canoeing
Expeditions

© ATTA 2018
 Cool Trending Activities
“Cool” activities are low in demand

Skiing/ Horseback
Snowboarding Riding

Archaelogical Sailing

COOL

Fishing

© ATTA 2018
 Cold Trending Activities
“Cold” activities have little or no client demand

Caving Motorized Sports

COLD Kite Surfing Paragliding

© ATTA 2018
 Cold Trending Activities
“Cold” activities have little or no client demand

Heli-Skiing Orienteering

COLD Sand boarding

© ATTA 2018
 Top Trending Activities by Region

HEADQUARTERS #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

AFRICA SAFARI ECO-TOURISM HIKING BIRDWATCHING CULTURAL

ENVIRONMENTALLY
ASIA CULTURAL ECOTOURISM HIKING CLIMBING
SUSTAINABLE

ENVIRONMENTALLY
EUROPE HIKING CYCLING ECO-TOURISM CULTURAL
SUSTAINABLE

ENVIRONMENTALLY
NORTH AMERICA HIKING CULTURAL ECO-TOURISM CULINARY
SUSTAINABLE

ENVIRONMENTALLY
SOUTH AMERICA ECO-TOURISM HIKING CULTURAL CULINARY
SUSTAINABLE

ENVIRONMENTALLY
ALL REGIONS HIKING CULTURAL ECO-TOURISM CULINARY
SUSTAINABLE

© ATTA 2018
DESTINATIONS

© ATTA / Rupert Shanks

 Hottest Trending Destinations
“Hot” destinations have high levels of client demand
“Warm” destinations are seeing an increase in client demand

Eastern Europe Scandinavia

HOT! Southern Africa Southeast Asia

© ATTA 2018
 Warmest Trending Destinations
“Warm” destinations are seeing an increase in client demand

Oceania South America

WARM India / South Asia Antarctic

© ATTA 2018
 Warmest Trending Destinations
“Warm” destinations are seeing an increase in client demand

Western Europe Mediterranean

WARM East Africa Arctic

© ATTA 2018
 Warmest Trending Destinations
“Warm” destinations are seeing an increase in client demand

North America Central America

China / Northeast
WARM Central Asia
Asia

© ATTA 2018
 Warmest Trending Destinations
“Warm” destinations are seeing an increase in client demand

West Africa Northern Africa

WARM Russia

© ATTA 2018
 Coolest Trending Destinations
“Cool” destinations are stagnant in client demand

Middle East Caribbean

COOL

© ATTA 2018
ABOUT ATTA
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)
serves over 1,000 members in 100 countries worldwide. Members Followed by an
predominantly include tour operators, tourism boards, specialty agents
and accommodations with a vested interest in the sustainable
introduction
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connections that propel members towards their business goals and the
industry toward a responsible and profitable future. Through its
regional AdventureConnect and AdventureNEXT events and annual
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conference, the ATTA excels in professional learning, networking and
partnering services. With expertise in research, education, adventure
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ADVENTURE TRAVEL
TRENDS SNAPSHOT
APRIL 2018

© ATTA / Rupert Shanks